


Working for the Man

by nomelon



Category: Bill & Ted (1989 1991)
Genre: 1980s, Best Friends, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, M/M, Pre-Canon, Teenagers, be excellent to each other, party on dudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-22
Updated: 2011-03-22
Packaged: 2017-10-17 05:10:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/173237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nomelon/pseuds/nomelon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ted has most heinous job interview and Bill is a supportive best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Working for the Man

**Author's Note:**

> For jendavis who asked for _Bill & Ted - One of them is stressing out at the prospect of actually having to go in for a job interview, and the other one tries to get them to chill, whether through air guitar, slushies, or other means_.

Bill lay sprawled out on Ted's bed, tossing M&Ms into his mouth and only missing occasionally, watching as Ted stood in front of the mirror, struggling with the knot of his tie.

"Dude, you know those things come in clip-on, right?"

"It's my dad's," Ted said. "He said I have to use it. It's part of his whole..." Ted waved his hands. "... be a man thing." He frowned at the mirror and turned to face Bill. "How does it look?"

Bill looked him up and down. Ted's tie had a huge, loose knot and the fat end was hanging higher than the thin end. "Excellent tie tying skills, dude," he said, trying to be supportive.

"No, but the whole thing," Ted clarified, looking unhappy.

Bill took a breath and opted to go for the truth, leaving out the part where he should really have made fun of Bill for wearing a brown sports jacket and looking like a history teacher with admittedly cooler hair. "It looks most distasteful. Your dad is totally curbing your rock and roll spirit, Ted."

Ted rolled his shoulders uncomfortably, pulling at the collar of his shirt. "I know. I feel totally unlike myself."

Bill was of the opinion that every single thing about their day sucked the big one. Except perhaps for the excellent slice of pizza he'd had at lunch. It was the beginning of the summer and he and Ted should have been free to travel the highway of life: hanging out at the mall, cruising for babes, drinking slushies and seeing whose tongue turned bluer, and, most importantly, holding band practice in Ted's garage in the long afternoons and making excellent intro videos. The summer had stretched out before them and it had all looked golden... right up until this morning when Ted's dad had dropped the bombshell about Ted getting a summer job.

Whereas Bill's dad still gave him a generous allowance -- nothing to rival Missy's, but enough that Bill never had to scrimp on new guitar strings or concert tickets or snacks -- Ted's dad had told Ted in long and painful detail about how he'd worked two jobs to put himself through college, and it was high time Ted made a man of himself and earned his own money, so Ted should be more than happy, grateful even, that he had hooked Ted up with an interview at a restaurant managed by a retired work colleague of his.

Ted was of the opinion that he may as well grin and bear it as he never could win an argument with his dad when it came to all the ways that Ted was living his life the wrong way. Bill was of the opinion that this was a most egregious turn of events, and that sometimes Ted's dad really sucked donkey balls.

Ted sat heavily on the bed beside Bill. Several M&Ms rolled his way. "Most non-non-non-triumphant," he said with a sad little sigh. Bill laid a hand on Ted's shoulder and squeezed, opting for the silent solidarity approach because nothing he could say right then was likely to make Ted any happier. "Plus the idea of actually having to go to this heinous interview tomorrow is most intimidating," Ted added.

"But you always give excellent oral presentations in class, Ted."

"We usually flunk our oral presentations, Bill."

Bill considered this. "Yes, I admit the content is often lacking, but stylistically your oratory skills and flare for the dramatic are unmatched in your peer group."

Ted nodded, but didn't look any happier. "This is different, Bill. This is going to be like giving an oral presentation on _myself_."

Bill frowned. He'd never thought of it like that before. Then inspiration struck. "You're supposed to picture the interviewer naked, dude."

Ted pulled a face. "Mr Brady? He's gotta be in his sixties, dude. I don't want to upchuck on his shoes. I don't think that's the kind of first impression my dad wants me to make."

Bill grinned. "Maybe that's what you _should_ do, Ted. No way he'd hire you after that. Then you'd be free."

Ted's face lit up, but just as quickly it fell again. "Good call, but no way my dad would quit that easy." He shook his head. "I'm screwed. I'm going to work for The Man. I may never forgive myself."

Bill couldn't stand to see Ted so down. "Maybe it won't be so bad," he said, distracting himself with Ted's tie, tugging it so it was centred and seeing what he could do about the knot. Numerous childhood visits to Granny S. Preston, Esq.'s house when his mom had still been around had meant he'd had to wear embarrassing little shorts suits which had resulted in him being able to tie a most excellent half Windsor from a very young age. "I mean, I can still come and see you every day. We can hang out on your breaks and scope out the babes. We can work band practice around your schedule." He looked up to see Ted watching him closely. Bill swallowed; his mouth suddenly dry. "It won't be so bad, dude."

"Right," Ted said, nodding and not quite meeting Bill's eye. "You're right." He gave a short smile that Bill knew was all for his benefit but was severely lacking in conviction. Bill frowned. He was supposed to be doing a better job of cheering Ted up than this. That's what best friends were for, after all.

He realised he still had hold of Ted's tie -- which now sported a most excellent knot which would no doubt go a long way to winning Ted his interview -- and experienced a sharp jag of panic when he saw that he'd been winding it around his fist, giving Ted less and less space to move. He tried to get it unwrapped without looking like a total spaz, but unfortunately this just tugged Ted in closer.

"Sorry, dude," Bill said, reduced to flapping his hand in a desperate bid for freedom.

Ted grabbed Bill's wrist and held him still, his expression amused and a little curious. Bill was far too aware of his own skin, of the way their thighs were pressed together, how good Ted smelled and how close he was. Bill was walking the line between eerily calm and completely freaking out due to the awful certainty that he was seconds away from throwing caution to the wind and kissing Ted, because apparently his lizard brain thought that nothing said "supportive best friend" like a little lip action.

"Bill?" Ted said softly, and Bill couldn't take it anymore. He'd wanted this since forever: the one deep, dark secret he'd never told Ted. He made a low, desperate sound he'd deny to his dying day and pulled Ted in the last couple of inches.

He hadn't planned this, hadn't ever thought this was something that would happen, and he certainly hadn't known that today would be the day it would all go down. He was kissing Ted and it was probably the most terrifying and bodacious thing that had ever happened to him, even more so than that time they'd gone to see Van Halen play in Anaheim and Bill had crowd-surfed his way right onto the stage. This blew that right out of the water.

Ted made a soft sound of surprise and Bill drew back immediately, frozen in place with no clue what came next. Ted slowly licked his lips and stared at Bill for a long, excruciating moment, his mouth hanging open.

" _Woah_ ," he said, blinking. Then, " _Dude_."

"Sorry," Bill said immediately. "That wasn't... Sorry."

"No," Ted said. "Dude, just... could you... I mean, I didn't..." He took a breath. "Do that again."

Bill's heart flip-flopped in his chest. "For real?"

Ted nodded. Bill didn't need to be told twice.

Kissing Ted was a lot like having a conversation, except with more tongue. There was an excellent back and forth where they finished each other's sentences, they knew what the other was thinking, and they agreed about all the same things. Bill smiled against Ted's mouth, happiness rising like a balloon in his chest. He could hardly believe it. Ted was totally into this, too, and it was the single greatest moment of Bill's life. He pushed Ted back on the bed and crawled in close, tangling their legs together. He shoved Ted's jacket off his shoulders and tugged up his shirt, wanting to get his hands on skin. He'd never felt this kind of urgency before, never felt this overwhelming need to get closer. He was totally in love with his best friend, they were really _doing_ this, and it was _excellent_.

He realised he had something he needed to say, something important, and he needed to say it now while he was feeling brave. He drew back to look at Ted. Ted's cheeks were pink, his hair sticking up in all directions, the buttons of his shirt were half undone, his stupid tie long since discarded. He looked supremely debauched and not at all like a history teacher, and it made Bill's stomach go warm and achy.

"Ted?"

"Yes, Bill?"

"You're going to make an awesome Wendy's worker," Bill said seriously. "But I think I should apply for a job there, too. That way we can spend all summer together, just like always."

A huge smile blossomed on Ted's face. "Bill?"

"Yes, Ted?"

"I'm totally picturing you naked right now."

**Author's Note:**

> <http://nomelon.livejournal.com/205822.html>


End file.
